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Renting or buying a home in Portugal – deposits, the 2 % rent cap, the 2026 coefficient and IMT

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Rents in Lisbon rose again in 2026 and house prices are climbing at 16.5 per cent a year, so knowing the rules pays. Here is what a landlord may ask for when renting in Portugal, how rent can rise, how you end a lease, which public housing schemes exist, and what IMT and stamp duty add when you buy.

Woman holding a small dog on a balcony above the rooftops of Lisbon
Photo: Olga/Adobe Stock

Finding a home is the hardest step for most newcomers. In the first quarter of 2026 the median rent of the 39,395 new leases signed in Portugal was €9.46 per square metre, 9.1 per cent higher than a year earlier, and Lisbon municipality stood at €17.42. House prices rose 16.5 per cent year on year in the second quarter of 2026. The rules on renting in Portugal, though, are national and protective.

Three recent changes matter. The Mais Habitação law (Lei 56/2023, in force since 7 October 2023) caps the starting rent of many new leases until 31 December 2029; the official rent-update coefficient for 2026 is 1.0224; and since 1 August 2024 buyers aged 35 or under pay no IMT on a first home up to €330,539.

How much does it cost to rent in Portugal?

AreaMedian rent of new leases, per m²Note
Portugal€9.46First quarter 2026, +9.1 % year on year
Grande Lisboa€14.38Highest region; Lisbon and Porto metropolitan areas: 44.0 % of new contracts
Lisbon municipality€17.42+8.2 %, the highest of the 24 cities over 100,000 inhabitants; 17,144 new leases in the year to March 2026
Porto municipality€14.29Twelve months to March 2026; Porto metropolitan area €10.13
Coimbra municipality€9.48+6.8 %; Braga is not in INE's text release

Source: INE (Statistics Portugal), Estatísticas de Rendas da Habitação ao nível local, 1st quarter 2026, read 24 September 2026.

What can a landlord ask for – deposit, advance rent and stamp duty

A residential lease must be in writing (Civil Code art. 1069). To sign you need a NIF (número de identificação fiscal – tax number, part 4). The ceiling: advance rent for no more than two months, agreed in writing, and a deposit (caução) of up to two months' rent (art. 1076, as amended by Lei 24-D/2022). Stamp duty on the lease is 10 per cent of one month's rent, charged on the contract and on any later increase. IMPIC's online register shows free and instantly whether an agency is licensed for real-estate mediation.

Keep every rent receipt: the lease plus the last receipt is what AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo – the immigration agency) accepts as proof of accommodation for a residence permit; a junta de freguesia (parish council) declaration is not.

How can the rent rise, and how do you get out of a lease?

Unless agreed otherwise in writing, rent can be updated once a year by the official coefficient, the first time one year after the contract starts, with at least 30 days' written notice of the coefficient and the new rent (art. 1077). The coefficient is 1.0224 for 2026 (Aviso 23174/2025/2), after 1.0216 for 2025 and 1.0694 for 2024. Separately, Lei 56/2023 art. 34 caps the starting rent of a new lease on a home let in the five years before the law at the last rent multiplied by 1.02; it applies only above the general limits of Portaria 176/2019, until 31 December 2029.

Fixed-term leases run from one to 30 years – shorter only for non-permanent or transitory purposes such as work, study or tourism – and renew automatically for the same period, or for three years if the term was shorter (arts. 1095 and 1096): Anna Andersson's one-year lease in Porto renews for three years unless someone gives notice.

Term of the leaseTenant's notice to stop renewalLandlord's notice to stop renewal
6 years or more120 days240 days
1 to under 6 years90 days120 days
6 months to under 1 year60 days60 days
Under 6 monthsOne third of the termOne third of the term
Open-ended leaseAfter six months, at any time: 120 days (contract has run one year or more) or 60 daysOnly for own or descendants' housing need, paying one year's rent; for demolition or deep works; or with at least five years' notice

Source: Código Civil, arts. 1097–1102, consolidated text of the Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa, read 24 September 2026.

A landlord's opposition to the first renewal takes effect only three years after signing, unless the landlord or a first-degree descendant needs the home (art. 1097). After one third of a fixed term you may leave at any time with 120 days' notice (term of one year or more) or 60 days; miss the notice and you owe the rent for the missing days, except in involuntary unemployment, permanent incapacity or death (art. 1098). A landlord may end the lease when rent is three months or more in arrears, or after more than four payments over eight days late in 12 months, after a registered-letter warning at the third delay (art. 1083).

Public housing support – the national programmes and what Lisbon adds

The state lists national programmes plus IHRU (housing institute) social housing, with rent set by household income (Lei 81/2014). Local schemes are decided by each câmara municipal (town hall).

ProgrammeWhoKey rules
1.º DireitoPeople in undignified housing without the means to pay for adequate housingRun by IHRU with the municipalities
Programa de Arrendamento AcessívelTenantsRents below market level
Porta 65 JovemYoung tenants – the age limits differ between two official pages, so check IHRU'sMonthly subsidy; rooms excluded; each approval lasts 12 months, at most 5 years; rent at most 60 % of gross household income; decided within 45 working days
Lisbon, municipalLisbon residentsArrendamento Apoiado, Renda Acessível and a municipal rent subsidy on the Habitar Lisboa platform; conditions could not be read on 24 September 2026. Porto, Braga and Coimbra: ask the câmara municipal

Source: ePortugal, Portal da Habitação (IHRU) and the Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, read 24 September 2026.

Buying a home in Portugal – IMT, stamp duty and IMI

Buying means a promissory contract (contrato-promessa), a deed (escritura) and taxes: IMT (imposto municipal sobre as transmissões – transfer tax) and stamp duty of 0.8 per cent at purchase, and IMI (municipal property tax) every year. IMT brackets are national (Lei 73-A/2025 for 2026); IMI is decided by each municipal assembly between 0.3 and 0.45 per cent of the taxable value. A mortgage of five years or more carries stamp duty of 0.6 per cent on the credit used.

Price of your own permanent home, mainland, 2026IMT rateDeduct
Up to €106,3460 %–
€106,346 to €145,4702 %€2,126.92
€145,470 to €198,3475 %€6,491.02
€198,347 to €330,5397 %€10,457.96
€330,539 to €660,9828 %€13,763.35
€660,982 to €1,150,853, and aboveSingle rate 6 %, then 7.5 %–
Not your permanent home1 % up to €106,346, then the same steps; the 8 % band ends at €633,931–
IMT Jovem: buyer 35 or under, first own permanent home0 % up to €330,539; 8 % to €660,982; then the single rates; no 0.8 % stamp duty. Since 1 August 2024 (Decreto-Lei 48-A/2024)€26,443.12 in the 8 % band

Source: the Tax Authority (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira), Ofício Circulado 40129/2026, read 24 September 2026.

IMT Jovem requires a first purchase, exclusively for your own permanent home, by someone not a dependant for IRS that year who owned no residential property in the previous three years; the benefit is lost if the home gets another use within six years, except through sale, a family change or a job move of more than 100 km. Banco de Portugal's mortgage limits could not be read on 24 September 2026.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Get a NIF and a bank account (part 4)Before you sign anything
2Check the agency in IMPIC's registerBefore paying a deposit
3Sign a written lease: at most two months' advance rent plus two months' deposit, and 10 % stamp dutyAt signing
4Was the home let in the five years before 7 October 2023? The 1.02 cap may applyBefore agreeing the rent
5Apply for Porta 65 Jovem or IHRU housing if eligibleAny time
6Buying: run the IMT table, check IMT Jovem, budget stamp duty and IMIBefore the promissory contract

Source: ePortugal, Portal da Habitação (IHRU) and the Tax Authority, read 24 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 24 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.